Rapid national growth is tied to SME development:Mian Shahid

Lahore: Chairman of the United International Group Mian Shahid on Friday said rapid national growth is tied to SME development therefore this sector should be given importance.

SME sector is the backbone of the economy providing jobs to majority of the labour which has turnaround fate of many economies including Japan, Korea and Thailand, he said.

He said that out of 3.5 million SMEs in Pakistan, 65 percent are located in Punjab which are facing multiple problems like energy crisis, lack of regulatory support, incoherent laws, deficiency of market information and skilled labour.

Mian Shahid said that SBP pushed banks to boost SME financing which increased by 20 percent to 299 billion of which loans worth 91 billion or 30 percent got infected shying away many banks.

Textile and garments sector has emerged as biggest defaulter which failed on 50 percent of its financial obligations therefore special incentives should be given to these sectors.

He called for reviving textile and garments sectors which is steadily going down in competition with China, India, Bangladesh and Vietnam while the spinning capacity of country has declined by 30 percent.

He asked the banks to revisit policy of ignoring SMEs and orchestrate a plan to develop this critical sector to reduce poverty and unemployment and ensure equality in the society.